Lionel Page (@lionelpage): "On my Substack I make the claim, which may sound contentious, that the formal tools developed in economics, especially decision theory and game theory, are the grammar of life. Dobzhansky’s maxim that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” is a remind…"

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On my Substack I make the claim, which may sound contentious, that the formal tools developed in economics, especially decision theory and game theory, are the grammar of life.

Dobzhansky’s maxim that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” is a reminder that behaviour is ultimately shaped by selection. If selection favours mechanisms that manage trade-offs under constraints and navigate strategic interaction, then it is natural that models of choice and games explain behavioural patterns in humans and beyond.

This helps explain why these tools are used in other behavioural sciences such as evolutionary biology (evolutionary game theory, signalling models) and cognitive neuroscience (utility-based choice, reinforcement learning, models of social interaction).

as Stigler argues, the very nature of economic logic pushes us further. Economics, in its positive, analytical sense, is not about particular markets or specific goods. It is about choice under scarcity. It is the study of purposive behavior when people must decide what to do, when to do it, with which resources, and with whom.

Sebastian Galiani

Dec 21

1:53 AM

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